Returning family members of foreign terrorist fighters often represent a complex combination of victim, perpetrator, and witness — requiring complex and multi-stakeholder approaches that are trauma-informed and require age, gender, and culturally sensitive responses, from intake procedures through intervention programs, criminal justice responses, and community reconciliation.

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The GCTF Countering Violent Extremism Working Group convened its Eleventh Plenary Meeting under the current co-chair mandate in New York. Discussions focused on thematic priorities related to preventing and countering radicalization and recruitment of individuals to violent extremism conducive to terrorism through internationally, regionally, nationally, and locally owned approaches.

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The GCTF East Africa Working Group held a side event on the margins of the Twentieth GCTF Coordinating Committee in New York. The event sought to promote gender-sensitive approaches to leadership, policymaking and processes related to criminal justice responses to terrorism in East Africa. Read more »

The GCTF Capacity-Building in the West Africa Region Working Group convened its second Plenary Meeting under the current co-chair mandate in Accra, Ghana. Discussions focused on regional and cross border priorities related to preventing and countering terrorism and explored ways to further enhance capacity building and cooperation in the region. Read more »

The return of family members of foreign terrorist fighters is an ongoing and increasingly salient issue. The GCTF FTF Working Group convened a regional workshop to look at integrating policy and practice related to returning families in the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Middle East.

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At its fifth Plenary Meeting, the GCTF Criminal Justice and Rule of Law Working Group discussed supporting the development of effective criminal justice systems within a rule of law framework and with full respect for human rights in the counterterrorism field.

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The GCTF East Africa and West Africa Working Groups brought together regional actors to focus on gender at the intersection of counterterrorism roles and practices. Advancing gender considerations in counterterrorism and P/CVE was a central discussion point. The Forum held its first in-person activity in over two years in Senegal. Read more »

In recent years, violent extremism conducive to terrorism has significantly increased in West Africa and the Sahel region. The GCTF Capacity-Building in the West Africa Region Working Group convened a virtual workshop to discuss this subject focusing on narratives, mindsets and behaviors.

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The GCTF Criminal Justice and Rule of Law Working Group organized a one-off meeting to explore the relevance of transitional justice approaches in contexts with a terrorism dimension, and to look at opportunities and challenges for how transitional justice approaches may contribute to a comprehensive, rights-based, rule-of-law approach to foreign terrorist fighters.

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